Aliquippa keeps punching above its weight … and winning

By: Chris Harlan
Monday, August 23, 2021 | 6:01 AM

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Because Aliquippa reached the WPIAL Class 4A finals last fall, coach Mike Warfield worries that achievement will overshadow one harsh reality.

“We’re a school that graduated 39 kids — boys and girls — and we had to play 4A,” said Warfield, who’s entering his fourth season as coach.

The Quips have a Class A enrollment but will be forced to compete in 4A for at least one more season under a PIAA competitive balance rule that pushes up schools with postseason success and too many transfers. Warfield decried the promotion to 4A unfair last season, a stance he hasn’t softened.

“I’m going to talk about this all year,” Warfield said. “Is this fair? Is this healthy for our kids? When we win, sometimes we lose, because the people making the decisions overlook the real truth of the matter.”

Aliquippa went 9-1 overall, won the Parkway Conference title and reached the WPIAL final for the 13th consecutive year. There the Quips lost, 35-28, to Thomas Jefferson, a school that just graduated 229 students. Warfield says that enrollment disparity means his team is always “one or two injuries away” from a lost season.

But for at least one more year, that is what lies ahead. So Warfield took time since last fall to analyze the 2020 season. He tried to indentify where his team was hurt most by the roster-size mismatch, and his focus turned to the line of scrimmage.

The Quips return one of the biggest lines around with Neco Eberhardt (6-2, 285), Jason McBride (6-3, 295), Tyrese Jones (6-7, 340) and Naquan Crowder (6-3, 315) all back as starters. Yet, while those guys played almost every offense and defensive snap, other teams were able to rotate their linemen.

And maybe, all that weight wasn’t good.

“I went back and looked at our playoffs, and I had a really good, honest conversation with our linemen,” Warfield said. “Everybody talks about how big they are, but I calculated how many plays we had. We averaged maybe 90 to 120 — just run and pass — not special teams. How many of those plays are you giving 100%?”

To fix that issue, Warfield intends to substitute earlier in games to keep players fresh. But he also urged his linemen to improve their conditioning, a challenge they accepted.

“It doesn’t matter really until we get to the fourth quarter,” Warfield said. “OK, you were good in the first quarter, but in the fourth quarter, where are you physically? I challenged them to play a more complete game.”

But that wasn’t the only concern facing the team this summer. The Quips lost a 1,200-yard rusher to graduation, saw their would-be starting quarterback move out of state, had senior starter Isaiah Gilbert tear an ACL and were devastated when leading receiver Antonyo “Sunny” Anderson was severely injured in a May shooting.

Anderson is recovering but won’t be in uniform.

“Mentally, we’re all still thinking about Sunny,” Warfield said. “I know I am. That’s something we’re going to have to deal with all year, just missing Sunny.”

The Quips turned to 5-foot-8 sophomore Quentin Good at quarterback after would-be starter Jabari Cleckley moved to Atlanta. Good’s brother, Darrien Fields, quarterbacked Aliquippa to the state finals in 2012.

“If you just look at his stature, you might question (his abilities), but his knowledge of the game is above level,” Warfield said. “Quarterback coach Maurice Cary has done a great job with the quarterbacks since I’ve been here.”

Quaylon Darby, a junior, could lead a stable of running backs that includes sophomores Cameron Lindsey and John Tracy, juniors Nate Lindsey and Isaiah Martinez and senior Floyd Sims.

The top receivers are junior Donovan Walker and seniors Cyair Clark, Tajier Thornton, Darion Dixon and Jamar Jeter, a transfer from Hopewell. Sophomore Brandon Banks and Jon Sparrow also will see snaps at receiver.

“We’ve got a good group out there with a little depth,” Warfield said. “We’re going to try to rotate seven or eight and keep everyone fresh because most of those guys play defense too.”

His analysis of last season convinced him to use as many players as possible this fall.

“As a coaching staff, we never really thought about creating a system where we could spell people at times,” Warfield said. “We might not have the starter out there, but that starter is getting a break, can come back fresh and give us 100%.”

Warfield doesn’t entirely object to the competitive-balance rule that forced his team to Class 4A. Mainly, he’s unhappy because the Quips already were voluntarily playing up two classifications in 3A. He said teams already playing up that far shouldn’t be forced any higher.

“We’ve been dealing with a lot this year,” Warfield said, “but our kids are strong.”

Aliquippa

Coach: Mike Warfield

2020 record: 9-1, 5-0 in Class 4A Parkway Conference

All-time record: 743-326-22

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

9.3 at Beaver Falls, 7

9.10 Central Valley, 7

9.17 at Ambridge, 7

9.24 at Quaker Valley, 7

10.1 Beaver*, 7

10.8 at Chartiers Valley*, 7

10.15 Montour*, 7

10.22 Blackhawk*, 7

10.29 New Castle*, 7

*Conference game

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: Vaughn Morris*

75-152, 1,346 yards, 18 TDs

Rushing: Vernon Redd*

150-1,296, 12 TDs

Receiving: Antonyo Anderson

17-398, 7 TDs

*Graduated

FAST FACTS

• Aliquippa opens its season with consecutive nonconference games against defending WPIAL champions. In Week 1, the Quips visit Class 2A winner Beaver Falls before hosting 3A winner Central Valley in Week 2.

• Aliquippa has reached the WPIAL finals every year since 2008 and has done so in three different classifications. The Quips competed in Class 2A from 2008-15, moved to 3A from 2016-19 and joined 4A last season.

• The Quips held five of 10 opponents to a touchdown or less last season with three shutouts.

• Cyair Clark, Tajier Thornton and Nate Lindsey were part of a 400-meter relay team that placed fifth in the state last spring. The fourth sprinter, Vernon Redd, graduated in the spring.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

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